Curb the destructive phenomenon of fishing for juvenile Sardinian fish, the “bianchetto”, and block its subsequent marketing. These are the key points that are the subject of a vast complex operation called Sacco implemented by the maritime directorate of Reggio Calabria: in this period, men and women of the Calabrian Coast Guard have intensified checks at sea, along the coast and on the roads, with the the aid of air and naval means, fundamental hubs for the marketing of fish products in the thriving clandestine Calabrian and Sicilian market, where demand continues to be very high. This type of fishing, despite being devastating for the marine ecosystem as the fish are taken from the sea at the juvenile stage and therefore precluded from developing and reproducing, is particularly widespread especially in the Apulian, Calabrian and Sicilian fisheries, where the market is thriving. The marketing of this fish product is extremely profitable, just think that the retail cost of a kilo of this product can reach up to 30 euros. The inspection activity, conducted throughout the Calabrian and Lucanian Tyrrhenian territory, involves a significant number of soldiers from the peripheral offices of the Coast Guard, from Corigliano Calabro to Maratea.
As part of the Sacco operation, 507 checks were carried out between sea and land, raising 26 administrative sanctions, for a total of approximately 55 thousand euros, carrying out 25 seizures for a total of 866 kilos of various fish products. Since the beginning of the year, more than 200 boxes containing juvenile Sardinian fish, weighing approximately one ton, have been seized by the Calabrian Coast Guard. Soldiers from the Port Authority of Crotone intercepted a vehicle in the municipality of Crucoli with 265 kilos of undersized whitebait specimens on board, imposing an administrative fine of 25 thousand euros and proceeding with the seizure of the fish product. At Villa San Giovanni, military personnel from the Port Authority of Reggio Calabria intercepted a van with 360 kilos of juvenile sardines on board, imposing an administrative fine of 25 thousand euros on the driver.
In the territory of jurisdiction, military personnel from the Port Authority of Corigliano Calabro intercepted a van with 380 kilos of juvenile sardines on board, imposing a fine of 25 thousand euros on the driver. The fish product seized was, following the assessment of the ASP veterinary staff, deemed unsuitable for human consumption and was therefore destroyed.
